Blog Posts

An ESG ETF is designed to focus on the environmental, social, and governance factors of each company in the fund. According to Morningstar data, funds that seek to incorporate information on an investment’s sustainability and overall societal impacts – and select from those that meet specific criteria – have largely outperformed their traditional counterparts over […]

The digital yuan is China’s latest development in establishing itself as a global power economically.  In the mid-1980s, about 90 percent of China’s population lived in poverty. A generation later they’re challenging the United States and the West for superiority in a variety of different ways: Trade (already the largest) Economy and capital (second-largest economy […]

The price of a financial asset is money and credit divided by the quantity. So, understanding the two and the difference between money and credit is important to get at why financial assets are doing what they’re doing and help anticipate risk/reward in a market.   What is money? What is credit? Money is what […]

The rise behind high-flying assets like SPACs (blank check companies), cryptocurrencies, and NFTs is related to the environment we’re in and the large-scale liquidity that has caused a rise in all asset classes.  Interest rates in an economy are a function of nominal growth rates.  In Western economies (the United States, developed Europe, and Japan), […]

Over the years we’ve seen exceptionally volatile markets during certain periods. 1929 and 2008 were fundamentally brought on by debt crises. Discerning sophisticated investors could have done the calculations to understand that there was a lot of debt coming due that would not be paid back. They could have adjusted their positions accordingly to benefit […]

Eventual stagflation could be a risk for the economy and markets and one that’s currently vastly under-discounted. We’re in a situation where the central bank has pushed a lot of liquidity into the markets and brought up the financial economy (i.e., prices of financial assets) while the real economy (i.e., aggregate transactions volume in goods […]

The stock market is an important part of the overall functioning of the economic system. The stock market – and capital markets more generally – affect the real economy as they provide the money and credit that the real economy uses to make goods and services. The financial economy leads the real economy. The stock […]

The 401(k) vs. Roth IRA is a common comparison as it pertains to two of the most common tax-advantaged accounts available to US investors.  Like with many things with competing trade-offs, there’s no one right answer. The 401(k) and Roth IRA each have pros and cons. So it’s best to consider one’s individual circumstances and […]

Venture capital and angel investing largely involves investing in startups. While venture capital is a specific type of investing, it’s not exclusive to anyone. Investing in early-stage projects can offer alluring yields and can be part of anyone’s asset mix, even day traders. In the end, it’s a just-make-money game. While some people prefer stocks […]

If you’re considering whether trading is a good pursuit for yourself, good for others (e.g., hiring), or what makes a good trader more generally, we know that some personality types are more attracted to some professions over others. We also know that trader personality types and traits also follow a common thread. If you think […]